Adjustable drop-side for cribs



Feb, 18,1936, M H mamm ADJUSTABLE DROP SIDE FOHCRIBS Filed Jan. 17, 1954' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORN s.

A. M. SMITH ADJUSTABLE DROP SIDE FOR CRIBS Filed Jan. 17, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR.

I Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI QE ADJUSTABLE DROP-SIDE FOR CRIBS Arthur M. Smith, Oakland, Calif., assignor to Premier Bed and Spring Company, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Application January 17, 1934, Serial No. 706,957

3 Claims.

' is to be placed in orremoved from the crib one side or the other must be dropped to permit proper access. Practically all cribs are for this reason provided with drop-sides and latches, or other locking means, are employed to secure the sides in raised position. Many latching and locking devices have proven not only unsatisfactory but in many instances dangerous, as they may be accidentally released thereby permitting the side to drop down and the baby to roll or fall out.

The object of the present invention isto generally improve and simplify the construction and operation of drop-sides for cribs and like structures; to provide a drop-side which is supported in elevated position by slidable retractable latches, one at each end of the crib; to provide a:

"pair of supporting latches which are foot treadle actuated and which cannot be retracted by foot treadle actuation to permit lowering of the dropside until the drop-side is manually lifted; to provide a pair of supporting latches which are freely yieldable when the drop-side is raised thereby permitting free unobstructed movement when raising the drop-side without operation of the ,foot'treadle; and further, to provide a drop-side which is guided by the bed frame and vertically .adjustable to assume one or several vertical elevated positions.

The crib and the drop-side employed are shown by way of illustration in the accompanying draw- :ings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the crib.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the retractable latches.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of one end of the crib showing one of the latches, the foot treadle and the actuating mechanism connecting the foot treadle and. latch, said view also showing a portion of one end of the drop-side.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the foot treadle, one of the latches and the actuating mechanism, said view being in section and being taken on line IV-IV of Fig. .5.

Fig. 5 is a plan View in section taken on line V-V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of one end of the crib frame showing the foot treadle actuated shaft and the crank arm connecting said shaft with one of the retractable latches, said view also show 7 ing the spring for retracting the latches.

Fig. 7 is a cross section taken on line V'IIVII of Fig. 4.

Referring tothe drawings in detail, particu- 5,

larly Fig. 1, A and B indicate the ends of a crib structure, and C andD the drop-sides. employed. The ends A and B are provided with legs 2, 3, 4 and 5 forming the four corners or posts of the bed and these posts form a support for a mattress frame generally indicated at B. Any 'suitable securing means is employed to secure the ably mounted thereon are tubular sections it forming integral parts and extensions of the side sections C and D. These tubes guide the side sections with relation to the rods 9 and thereby permit vertical movement of the drop-side from raised .to lowered position aswill hereinafter be described. The tubes I!) are connected at their lower ends to the lower rails ll of the drop-sides while the upper ends of the tubes In are connected by short rods 12 with the ends l3 of the drop-sides as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The mattress frame 6 forms a support for pairs of retractable latches whereby the drop-sides are supported, therebeing one pair of latchesfor each drop-side and the latches arranged one at each end of the mattress frame. The latches are best shown in Figs. 2 to 7, inclusive. The latches are identical in construction and the description of one will accordingly sufiice.

By referring to Fig. 2 it will be noted that each latch has a head end M, the upper surface of which is notched or recessed as indicated at I5. The lower end is slotted asat I6 and formed integral with the head is a bar H which is provided with a pair of aligned elongatedslots l8 and [9. By referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 it will be noted that the bar end ll of the latch is supported with relation to the mattress frame 6 by means of bolts 19 These bolts. are secured to angle. plates 20 secured on the inner side of the mattress frame and they extend through the slots I8 and I9 of the latch, thus forming a support for the latch upon which the latches are slidably mounted; the sliding movement being limited by the length of the slots l 8 and I9.

Journaled in bearing brackets, such as indicated at 2|, and secured to the inner surface of the mattress frame and at opposite ends thereof, see Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 6, is a shaft 22 and formed on opposite ends thereof are crank arms 23, see

Figs. 1, 5 and 6. These crank arms extend downwardly from the shaft and enter the lower slots I6 formed in the heads of the latches, and when the shaft is rocked or rotated in the bearings ZI sliding movement will be transmitted to the latches to retract them with relation to the dropsides and when so retracted the drop sides may be lowered. A coil spring 24, see Fig. 6, surrounds the shaft 22. One end of the spring is secured to the shaft and the other to the bearing 2I. This spring is under tension and normally maintains the latches in projected position to engage and support the sides, hence if it is desired to retract the latches it is necessary to rotate shaft 22 in a direction opposite to the tension of the spring and this is accomplished in the present instance by means of a foot treadle generally indicated at 25, see Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The foot treadle is slidably mounted on the lower end of one of the guide rods 9 and is connected by means of a strap or link 26 with a crank arm 21 secured adjacent one end of the shaft 22. Hence when the foot treadle is stepped on or depressed shaft 22 is rocked in a directionto cause the latches to be retracted and when the foot treadle is released it will be raised and the latches will be projected due to the tension or action of the spring 24. Plainly speaking the latches are manually retracted by foot treadle action and they are automatically projected by spring action and as such are yieldable to permit the drop-side to: be raised without operation of the foot treadle.

In the preamble of the present specification it was stated that a number of latching and locking devices had been found not only unsatisfactory but in many cases dangerous due to the fact that they might become accidentally released, thereby permitting the drop-side to drop and the baby to roll or fall out of the crib. That is one of the features that has been entirely overcome in the present invention and it is accomplished as follows: First of all it will be noted that the latches can only be retracted by one operation and that is by depression of the foot treadle 25. That might, however, be accidentally accomplished, for instance by a larger child playing around the crib. In the present instance this cannot be accomplished as the latches are not retractable as long as the weight of the dropside is imposed on the latches. By referring to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 it will be noted that the upper head end of the latch is provided with a notch or recess I5 and that this engages either under themembers I2 connecting the upper end of the guide tube III with a drop-side or with the underside of the bottom rail I I of the drop-side. When the rail I I or the member I2 engages in the notch or depression I5 and the weight of the dropside is imposed thereon the foot treadle 25 cannot be depressed as too much friction will be imposed on the latches, hence before the foot treadle can be depressed it is necessary for the nurse or individual desiring to remove the baby to first grasp the drop-side with both hands and raise it free of the latches thereby moving the members I I or I2 out of engagement with the latches, and furthermore relieving the latches of Weight, then and then only can the foot treadle be depressed and the latches retracted. Where these several operations are required, accidental retraction of the latches is entirely prevented.

When the drop-side is fully elevated the latches will engage the lower rail I I of the drop-side and this is the position normally assumed by the dropside when the crib is occupied and if the dropside is to be completely lowered the lower ends of the guide tubes will engage the brackets 8. This completely lowered position will be assumed when the baby is to be removed or placed in the crib. It may, however, happen that the nurse or other attendant merely desires to straighten the covers or give the baby some minor attention. In that case it is not necessary to completely lower the drop-side and it is for this reason that the members I2 are provided, and when these members are engaged by the latches the drop-sides will assume an intermediate position permitting the nurse or attendant to perform the service required. In fact, the provision of means for supporting the drop-side in intermediate position is very important as the nurse or attendant may have to step to and away from the crib a number of times while performing certain duties and as the drop-side is partially elevated there is no danger of the baby rolling out when the attendants back is turned. Also it is possible that the attendant might possibly forget to raise the dropside after performing the service required and even that would not be dangerous in this instance as the drop-side still assumes a sufficiently elevated position to prevent the baby from rolling out.

The crib illustrated in Fig. 1 shows both sides of the crib provided with adjustable drop-sides. The mechanism employed on each side is identical, hence the description of one should suffice and it is therefore obvious that the mechanism may be placed on one side or both sides as desired, and while certain features of the present invention are more or less specifically described, I wish it understood that various changes may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims. Similarly, that the materials and finish of the several parts employed may be such as the manufacturer may decide, or varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a crib structure having a drop-side, a frame, said drop-side comprising a top rail and a bottom rail and end members connecting the same, a pair of latches slidably mounted on the frame and engageable with the bottom rail to support the drop-side in a fully elevated position, a pair of short rods, one at each end of the drop side, intermediate the top and bottom rails and engageable with the latches to support the dropside in a position intermediate fully elevated and fully lowered position, and means for withdrawing the latches to permit lowering of the dropside whether the latches are in engagement with the short rods or the bottom rail.

2. In a crib structure having a drop-side, a frame, said drop-side comprising a top rail and a bottom rail and end members connecting the same, a pair of latches slidably mounted on the frame and engageable with the bottom rail to support the drop-side in a fully elevated position, a pair of short rods, one at each end of the dropside, intermediate the top and bottom rails and engageable with the latches to support the dropside in a position intermediate fully elevated and fully lowered position, means for withdrawing the latches to permit lowering of the drop-side Whether the latches are in engagement with the short rods or the bottom rail, and means preventing release of the latches until the drop-side is manually lifted clear of the latches.

3. In a crib structure having a drop-side, a

frame, said drop-side comprising a top rail and a bottom rail and end members connecting the same, a pair of latches slidably mounted on the frame and engageable with the bottom rail to support the drop-side in a fully elevated position, a pair of short rods, one at each end of the dropside, intermediate the top and bottom rails and engageable with the latches to support the dropside in a position intermediate fully elevated and fully lowered position, means for withdrawing the latches to permit lowering of the drop-side whether the latches are in engagement with the short rods or the bottom rail, said means comprising depressible foot pedals, means actuated by said foot pedals for withdrawing the latches, and means preventing withdrawal of the latches if the drop-side is not manually lifted clear of the latches.

ARTHUR M. SMITH. 

